


Colourful Deceptions

by marvelobsessed



Category: Figure Skating RPF, Olympics RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Romance, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-04-18 09:34:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14210238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelobsessed/pseuds/marvelobsessed
Summary: As she sat there alone in her room in Michigan, she finally realised what this meant. Today had been her last chance, if Scott truly was her soulmate, he should have seen colour when he looked at her.She would have to spend the rest of her life watching her soulmate love another woman, and she would have to do it whilst pretending that everything was fine.*******AKA a virtuemoir colour soulmate AU





	1. finding colour in this black and white world

**Author's Note:**

> I will probably be forever apologising for writing RPF

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so I never really thought I'd be writing RPF but here we are. This is my first time posting anything so sorry if it is awful (and for any typos I missed)!
> 
> Thanks to Gabbi for helping me read it over and telling me to post it.

_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart, but you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start._

_****************_

Tessa came bouncing up to him before they got on the ice on the day of his 18th birthday, her eyes wide with hope, hope that he mistook for excitement. 

“Happy Birthday! So? Can you see it?” She asked him softly, the smile on her face hesitant but full of joy. 

He knows what she’s talking about instantly, of course he does. It’s his 18th birthday and he knows for sure that she won’t be the first one to ask him. 

In the world that they lived in, a world that lacked colour for many, turning 18 was a major milestone. A person usually spent the first 18 years of their life seeing the world in black and white, it wasn’t until they turned 18 that they were able to start seeing colour. 

Scott and Tessa, like many other children, had been captivated by the stories of colourmates as they grew up. Scott pretended that it was just Tessa but they both knew he was just as invested as she was. Over the years, they had discovered that in order to see colour, you had to be over the age of 18 and the world would suddenly burst into vibrant, beautiful colours if you met your soulmate or found something that was particularly precious to them. 

As with everything, there were exceptions, exceptions Tessa had always been intrigued by. If a couple had a particularly strong bond and met before they turned 18, there was a chance that they could see colour as soon as they met. Jordan had once described it to Tessa as “the universe insisting that these two people must be together”. 

“Yes, as soon as I woke up this morning.” Scott tried to sound happy as he finally answers Tessa’s question, knowing there was no point in acting ignorant. 

“Oh.” Tessa pauses a moment, trying to hide the disappointment that surges through her fiercely, tries not to visibly deflate in front of him. 

Scott believes his act must work as Tessa then launches into an excited series of questions of what its like. 

“Tell me what its like Scott, tell me everything!” 

As much as he would like to move on from this topic, Scott has never been able to say no to her, not since he was 9 years old and first grabbed her hand. So he starts to tell her what its like as he plasters a smile onto his face and tries to sound as excited as she is, they stroke around the rink as he tells his tale. 

As Tessa strokes alongside him, her mind whirs away, not really taking in what Scott was saying. She had merely asked the question to keep him distracted, in truth she had no interest in knowing what it was like, not when she already knew what it colour looked like and had for the past 9 years. 

She had seen colour from the moment she had turned around at Ilderton Skating Club and locked eyes with her new skating partner, Scott Moir. 

Back then, she hadn’t really been old enough to understand the concept of colour mates or the significance of why she had been able to see colour from such a young age, but she understood enough at the age of 7 to know that it hadn’t been the same for Scott. She had stared at him agape as a 9 year old Scott had skated towards her, marvelling at the bright red colour of his coat and the dull blue of the beanie that had sat on his head and yet his face was blank as he had advanced. No matter how little she really understood about that moment, she knew that her expression would have been reflected on his face had he seen colour like she had. 

Her fears and worries had only intensified as they got to know each other, as he had babbled away excitedly about one day meeting his colour mate, how he hoped she was pretty and funny and interested in hockey (all things she didn’t think he associated with her, she was just his awkward and shy little skating partner). 

As she had grown older and learnt more about soulmates, she had come to realise what it meant that she had seen colour so early. But unfortunately for Tessa, seeing colour early was rare and she had no one to ask so she had tried to reassure herself that perhaps Scott hadn’t seen colour because he wasn’t old enough yet. 

So over the years (and especially over the last six months), she had yearned for Scott’s 18th birthday and had imagine a thousand different scenarios for how this morning could go. Admittedly, many of the scenarios were over-dramatic and inspired by perhaps one too many romantic films but she didn’t let that deter her. Maybe it had been too optimistic to hope that Scott would lock eyes with her, his world would burst into colour and everything would end up perfectly, but what else should she have hoped for? 

The way this morning had actually gone? That had not featured in a single one of her imaginings.

She knew that his girlfriend Lizzie had been with him this morning so when he said he had seen colour as soon as he woke up, she knew that he meant that his girlfriend was his soulmate. She hadn’t been prepared for the overwhelming and crushing sense of disappointment and sadness that had settled in her chest when Scott made it clear that she was the not the reason he saw colour.

Another thing that puzzled her, was Scott’s lack of excitement. He had always been so excited when they were younger and he brought up their future soulmates, so she didn’t understand why now that he had finally seen colour, the excitement that she had expected wasn’t there. She could see through his smile and could sense that something was off but she was too caught up in her own despair to question him on it.

Her question was answered several weeks later when she discovered from Charlie that Scott and Lizzie had broken up. There were some unfortunate situations described as ‘unpaired soulmates’ where a person was your soulmate but you weren’t theirs. So Tessa had automatically jumped to the conclusion that whilst Lizzie was Scott’s soulmate, Scott clearly wasn’t hers, her theory made even more sense when she remembered that Lizzie had just turned 18. 

Tessa knew exactly how soul-crushing that was to find out so she had tried her very best to be as nice as possible to Scott, never bringing up Lizzie and putting up with his hormonal moods with a bright smile even if she wanted to scream at him that she had felt (and still did feel) the pain he was going through. 

Later, on the night of Scott’s 18th birthday, when he invited her out with him and his friends ( _and Lizzie_ ), she had ignored the hurt that had flashed through his eyes when she declined and asked if he could just take her home instead. 

"I'm just - it's been a long week Scotty." She hoped her small and tired smile was enough to convince him and sighed internally with relief when he simply nodded and made his way to his car. 

Dashing out of his car with a barely intelligible ‘happy birthday Scotty, have a good night’, she had run straight to her room, shut the door, collapsed onto her bed and allowed the tears that she had holding back all day to surface. 

She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, letting out gasping, body-wracking sobs but she finally paused long enough for her to fumble with her phone and press call. 

“Hello?” Jordan’s voice came through the other end of the phone after a few rings, she knew it was Scott’s birthday today so hadn’t really expected a call from Tessa. 

“Hello Tess? Is everything okay?” Jordan speaks again when the only sound that comes from the other end is the sound of her little sister sniffling softly. 

“He- He didn’t see it J.” Tessa’s voice is hoarse from crying when she finally stumbles over the words and Jordan is silent for a long moment as she tries to process. 

“Oh Tess. I’m so sorry. He’s still seeing in black and white?” Jordan’s voice was soft and sympathetic on the other end and for some reason it only made Tessa feel worse. 

Jordan was the only other person who knew that Tessa had seen in colour from the age of 7, after she had found out Scott didn’t see colour too, Tessa had tried her hardest to hide her colour vision from everyone, especially Scott. 

“No, he did. But not because of me.” Saying the words aloud makes the tears start up all over again and she presses a hand to her mouth to stop herself from sobbing again. 

“Oh Tess.” Jordan knows there is nothing that she can say that would possibly comfort her little sister and she wishes more than anything that she could hug her right now. 

Much like Tessa, Jordan had been sure that Scott and Tessa were soulmates, the fact that Tessa had seen colour so early had only confirmed it. In fact, she had probably been even more sure than Tessa, she had seen the way that Scott Moir had gazed at her sister over the years after all. 

“Are you ever going to tell him Tess?” 

“No!” Tessa sat up suddenly as the realisation hit her. 

As she sat there alone in her room in Michigan, she finally realised what this meant. Today had been her last chance, if Scott truly was her colour mate he should have seen colour when he looked at her. 

She was stuck.

She would have to spend the rest of her life watching her soulmate love another woman, and she would have to do it whilst pretending that everything was fine. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone got any theories? :)
> 
> Because there definitely aren't enough soulmate AUs out there for these two I finally decided to write this.
> 
> I hope you guys liked this and could you maybe review to let me know what you think? :) 
> 
> I don't really know how long this is going to turn out, probably about 3/4 chapters if people like it, I'm working on the next chapter now but life is quite busy right now so it might take a while!


	2. colours speak louder than words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessa turns 18 and things don't go exactly as Scott had planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy! Wow I'm so sorry that this update took forever!! Life got really busy and I just never got round to finishing it. Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for it? I really hope you guys like this chapter and it isn't too boring, I said I'd write a bit more just so I could post it but I got a bit carried away and 4000 words later, here we are. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, I loved reading the theories and most people were pretty much correct! Your comments inspired me to keep writing :)
> 
> Sorry if there are any typos, I've proofread it quickly but I didn't have time to check it properly :)

_I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth, and I’ve never opened up, I’ve never truly loved till you put your arms around me, and I believe its easier for you to let me go._

_*********************_

Essentially every girl that Tessa knew was excited for their 18th birthday, especially if they were as invested in romance films as she was. And yes, Tessa was excited for her birthday, but not for the reason that others might expect. Her 18th birthday signified the day she could _finally_ stop pretending, the day she could finally stop concealing her colour-sight from the world (and most importantly, from Scott). 

What she really wanted for her birthday was what she had prayed for every year since she was 7. For Scott Moir to wrap his arms around her and tell her that she was his soulmate. But she was no longer the naive and hopeful young girl that expected that to happen, she knew now that she was never going to get that. She had come to terms with that a while ago (or so she told herself). 

When her family had suggested they visit Toronto for her birthday, Tessa had jumped at the opportunity. Visiting the city had meant she hadn’t been around Scott on her birthday and hadn’t been faced with the dreaded _question_. Aside from this whole rather awkward and irritating (and heartbreaking but she was steadfastly trying to ignore that) situation, Scott was probably the person she most wanted to spend her birthday with. She would have been perfectly content with spending the day doing next to nothing, so long as he was with her - most of their waking hours were dictated by skating so the two of them appreciated every spare second they had. 

Not that she hadn’t enjoyed her time away in Toronto but being away on the days surrounding her birthday meant that the Moir clan had volunteered to throw a birthday party for her at their farm when she got back. So whilst she had been able to forget about her whole “my soulmate doesn’t love me back” situation for a few days, driving up the Moirs’ drive brought it all back in one fell swoop. 

She was just about to climb out of the car when Jordan’s hand closed around her hand firmly, turning around to face her sister with one eyebrow raised inquisitively she has to force herself not to bristle at the soft and sympathetic look on Jordan’s face. 

“It’s going to be alright Tess.” At Jordan’s soft smile and comforting tone, Tessa felt the anger deflating out of her, replaced instead by a surge of affection for her older sister. 

“Thanks J.” She squeezes her sister’s hand quickly, shooting her a small smile before turning to get out of the car and hurry after her parents to the Moirs’ front door. 

Alma is the one to open the door and immediately sweeps Tessa into a large hug. Tessa reciprocates with a genuine smile on her face, Alma Moir had always been like a second mother to her for as long as she could remember. 

“Happy belated birthday dear.” Alma’s tone is warm tone cheers her and as she goes on to greet her family, Tessa finds herself looking around for a _certain_ Moir with less trepidation than she would have five minutes ago. 

“Scotty said he had to go into town and offered to run some errands for me, don’t worry dear he should be here soon - I made him promise not to be late to your party.” Alma sends her a knowing smile as they make their way through the house to the garden where the party is going to take place. Tessa nods distractedly and follows Jordan into the garden whilst Alma turns towards the kitchen. 

After several minutes of watching her sister jump every time someone comes out of the house, Jordan sighs exasperatedly and pulls her sister towards her to distract her. Thankfully, Tessa does eventually relax as she chats away to Cara and Jordan.

However, it wasn’t long before Jordan excuses herself and drags Cara away with an excuse she couldn’t make out. Just as Tessa is about to turn around, a strong arm wraps around her midsection from behind, she tenses automatically but quickly relaxes into the familiar and comforting embrace. 

“Happy belated birthday T.” Scott’s voice is low and calming in her ear and she tries to ignore the tingling sensation that runs down her spine in response. 

Tessa hates her traitorous heart for the way that her heart rate increases despite her best efforts otherwise. She had told herself after Scott’s 18th birthday that she needed to get over her teenage crush and she thought she had partly succeeded. Of course she knew she was a fool for referring to her love for Scott as a _teenage crush_ and for believing that she could ever get over it, what person could get over their soulmate? Regardless of whether or not it was reciprocated, Scott was her colour mate for a reason. 

Whilst she would like to stay in this embrace forever (where she can safely hide her face from him), Tessa eventually turns around to face him and is instantly fixed with his intense gaze upon her face. 

She can’t look at his face for too long without feeling the familiar and frankly unwelcome stuttering of her heart so she moves her gaze away from his rather strange and insistent gaze. As she turns her eyes away she catches sight of his other hand, which holds a bouquet of flowers. Following her gaze down to the flowers, Scott quickly holds them up towards her with a soft smile on his face. 

“Oh! Are those -“ 

“Yeah. Happy birthday!” Scott replies to her question without her even having to finish it and she’s reminded once again of their close _partnership_. 

She doesn’t quite understand why he’s looking at her so expectantly but she smiles up at him pleasantly before quickly returning her gaze to the flowers. 

“Do you like them?” She hears the hesitance in his tone but assumes its because gestures like this are unfamiliar between them. 

“They’re beautiful Scott.” She breathes softly as she takes the bouquet from him and examines it more closely, Scott had never done something like this for her.

“Can you- can you see the colours?” He sounds more excited now but her stomach drops at the question. 

 _‘Here we go.’_ She thinks to herself, quickly taking in a sharp breath before tearing her gaze back up to his eyes. 

“Yeah, I can.” 

“You can?” Scott asks in disbelief but the happiness in his tone was clear. It only made Tessa feel worse for lying to him. Over the past two years since Scott had gained his colour-sight he had always said he couldn’t wait for her to be able to experience seeing the world in colour, that it was so very beautiful and that she would love it. Of course he didn’t know that she could already see it, and yes she did love it but not if it meant she had to go through this. 

Now he thought she could finally see colour, she almost couldn’t bear the happiness he clearly felt on her behalf that she was able to experience something that so many people sought in their lives. 

Tessa is about to say more when suddenly Jordan steps up from behind her and slings an arm around her shoulder. 

‘ _What is it with people creeping up on me today.’_ She can’t help but think, even if she is glad that Jordan had clearly seen her over here with Scott and had finally come to help her out (even if she was the reason she was alone with him in the first place). 

“Hey Scott. Oh! Those flowers are lovely!” Jordan exclaims and Scott smiles in response, he knew that she would be able to see the colours of the flowers because she had gotten her colour sight a year ago when she met her college boyfriend. 

“So Tess, have you told Scott about your _romantic encounter_ in Toronto?” Jordan smiles slyly in her sister’s direction and Scott feels a rush of affection at the blush that rises to Tessa’s cheeks before the words that Jordan had uttered finally caught up to him. 

“Your what?” Scott tried to keep his voice neutral even if he was anything but calm and collected. 

“Ohhhh she didn’t tell you? Tess saw colour when we went to Toronto!” Jordan’s voice is excited with a trace of mischief as she grins at her younger sister. Scott is so shocked by her words that he misses the elbow that Tess sends into Jordan’s side and the accompanying wince that she gets in response. 

For a long moment Scott is dumbfounded as he stares at Tessa in shock, his heart beats painfully in his chest and he struggles to pull air into his lungs, the hope that had built up in the past few minutes was quickly shattered around his feet at Jordan’s words.

“Oh! Tessa that’s amazing! Who’s the lucky guy? Why didn’t you tell me?” Scott forces cheer into his tone after his long silence and quickly plasters a large smile onto his face, hoping Tessa would be oblivious to his sudden distress. 

He thinks he sees disappointment and even sadness flash across her features before she turns to look at Jordan with a raised eyebrow. 

“I was going to tell you, before Jordan so rudely interrupted. I don’t know who he is, I must have seen him briefly in the crowd whilst we were walking through the city.” 

Oh. Now the disappointment and sadness made sense, she had finally found her soulmate and she didn’t know who he was - he certainly knew how that felt. 

“We’ll find him Tess, don’t worry! You’ll be reunited with your soulmate in no time!” He works hard to maintain his cheerful tone as he grins widely, hoping the pain behind his smile was carefully concealed. 

This time he can’t decipher the look on her face as her eyebrows furrow, but he barely has a chance to register what it might mean before they’re being interrupted, again. 

“Oh Tessa dear! How lovely it is to see you!” One of his aunts has approached them with a warm smile on her face and despite the interruption, the reminder that his family sees Tessa as one of their own pleases him. 

Leaving Tessa and Jordan to speak to his elderly aunt, he hurries away as discreetly and quickly as possible. It isn’t until the door of his bedroom is shut behind him that he releases the breath that he’s been holding in. Blinking rapidly to hold back his tears of disappointment, his fists collide  heavily against his mattress as he batters it forcefully to release his anger. Little did he know how much the scene resembled one that had taken place in Michigan two years earlier in Tessa’s bedroom.

Having released his frustrations (as much as he could without injuring himself at the very least), he slumps back against the mattress and sighs heavily. 

He had been so sure.

As hard as it had been to do, he had lied to Tess on his 18th birthday. He knew then that he couldn’t tell her the truth, not until she too turned 18 and now he was unbelievably glad that he had chosen to wait. 

Tessa believed that his ex-girlfriend had been his colourmate, because that was what he had led her to believe. What she didn’t know (and would now never find out if he could help it) was that Scott had seen colour since he was 8 years old. 

He still remembered that day, and the very first colour he had seen. Green, _gorgeous green_. 

He’d been trudging along the hallway towards the changing rooms at Ilderton Rink, muttering angrily under his breath that his mom was making him start figure skating classes when a slight gleam on the floor just outside the girls’ changing room had caught his eye. 

When he’d bent down to examine it, Scott had found that the gleam was in fact a delicate necklace chain. It had been the moment that his hand had closed around it that everything had changed. Initially, he hadn’t even noticed it, it was only as he was inspecting the small pendant that hung from the chain that he released the pendant was green. 

Little 8 year old Scott had barely understood what it meant, in his shock and bewilderment he had taken off towards the rink, the chain dropping back to the floor as he ran. 

He’d quickly found out that being able to see colour meant something special, something that Danny explained was only meant for grownups. But when Danny had asked who he had been looking at when he saw colour, Scott came up blank. He was supposed to be looking at someone? 

When he’d gone running back towards the changing rooms to find the necklace again, he’d been dismayed to find that the necklace was no longer there, and neither was the girl it clearly belonged to. 

Danny had laughed at him when he revealed that he didn’t know who his colour mate was and although he knew his older brother meant well, he hadn’t liked the feeling of shame and confusion he had felt. When he’d told his family that evening about his newfound colour-sight, his mom had been surprised but overjoyed, explaining to him that he was lucky to have seen colour so early. But when she asked who it was, he had remembered the shame he’d felt when Danny had laughed at him, so with his cheeks flaming red with embarrassment he explained that he didn’t know what he had touched or who he had seen. 

He never mentioned the necklace to anybody. 

It wasn’t until 10 months later that he met Tessa Virtue at their first ice-dance practice. He’d still been annoyed that his mom wouldn’t let him to go hockey practice with his friends and had instead made him come hold hands with a girl as they skated around so he’d barely looked at her, simply offered her his hand before they took their first steps together as an ice dance partnership. He only looked at her long enough to register that her eyes were the same colour as the necklace pendant he tried so hard not to think about. 

As he’d grown older, he kept it hidden from everyone but his family that he had colour-sight. Even as him and Tessa grew closer, he made sure not to mention it. Of course, he couldn’t resist talking about colourmates (if asked it was always Tessa that brought it up) and had babbled excitedly to her about one day finding his colourmate. That part wasn’t a lie, he was truly excited to finally find his colourmate, he just didn’t mention that he had probably already met them before. 

The older he got, the more his fascination with colour mates grew, driven by his desire to find his soulmate. He’d learnt that the necklace he had picked up all those years ago in Ilderton Rink must have been incredibly important to its owner for it to spark his colour-sight. 

It wasn’t until he was 13 that he finally found what he had been looking for. He and Tessa were at their first national competition as novice ice dancers and it was as he was fetching Tessa’s skates for her that he noticed it. 

A small glint caught his eye from inside the left skate. Knowing that Tessa was starting to invest in pre-skate rituals, he was curious so he stuck his hand inside the boot, pulling out what had caught his attention, he discovered that what lay in the palm of his hand was a necklace. An incredibly familiar, delicate necklace with a small green pendant hanging from the chain. 

It was the necklace that had haunted him for nearly 5 years, a necklace that he knew belonged to his colourmate, a necklace that belonged to Tessa Virtue. 

It was then that it finally occurred to him, he had known his soulmate all along. He had been skating with her for four years. It was also then that he realised Tessa did not see colour like he did, it was something he already knew but it had never mattered to him so much before. 

He’d convinced himself that it was because she was too young. It wasn’t uncommon for colour mates to see colour at different times, so he knew he had to wait. And that is what he had done, he had waited, and waited, and waited. And if he dated a few girls whilst he waited, what was really the harm in that? 

Now Tessa was finally 18, he had been anxiously awaiting this day for years and had been so very sure that it was the day he would finally be able to reveal to her that she was his soulmate, that this connection that existed between them, this unexplainable bond, was actually perfectly understandable. 

But he had been wrong. 

All the expectations and anticipation that had built up over the years came crashing down around him, leaving a sharp sense of pain and bitterness lingering around him. 

“Scotty? Are you in there? We’re about to bring out the cake and Tessa is wondering where you are.” A voice at his door startled him from pain-filled reflections and for one fearful moment he thought that it might be Tessa before he realised that the voice actually belonged to his mom. 

Glancing at his watch, he realises he’s been in here for much longer than he had anticipated so he quickly pushed off his bed and went to the door, replacing his sorrowful expression with the widest smile he could muster. 

_______________________________________________________

It was several hours later before he had a chance to see Tessa alone, the party was dying down and many of their older relatives had moved into the house to sit together in the Moir’s living room. 

Despite everything that had happened today, he had planned something for Tessa, something for just the two of them. Although he’d had to edit the plan slightly (it had initially involved finally kissing his colourmate), he was still determined to carry it out. 

Locking eyes with Tessa from where she was sat with Jordan and Cara further down the garden, he knew that she understood when she excused herself and walked over with a confused expression. 

“What’s wrong Scotty?” Her expression relaxed slightly when he smiled softly at her. 

“Nothing, just wondering if you wanted to get out of here so I can show you your surprise.” 

“Surprise?” He smirks slyly at her when her face lights up, despite her claims that she didn’t want him to get her anything or plan anything special for her birthdays, her face always lit up when he did.

Scott knows that Tessa prefers not to be in the centre of attention (something most people found strange considering she was an ice dancer) and so she wouldn’t want anything extravagant. Tessa had always loved it when he planned something small with just the two of them, and so that was what he had done. What he had planned was in no way exciting or ambitious, but it was them, it was _Tessa and Scott_. 

“Yes, are you ready to go now? I’ll drive.” She smiles up at him delightedly, that soft and gentle smile he would do literally anything to see on her face.

“Yes, just let me go say goodbye.” He nods and as she goes back towards her sister and his cousin, he hurries away to get the things he needs. 

“Where are we going?” The words are out of Tessa’s mouth before he even has a chance to leave his driveway and he chuckles softly at how predictable she is. He knows Tessa doesn’t like surprises, that she likes to be in control as much as possible. 

“You’ll have to wait and see kiddo, it isn’t far.” He laughs again when she gives out a small huff of frustration but they sit in comfortable silence for the remainder of the ride, reminding him of the early morning drives they used to share to the rink throughout their childhood. 

“We’re skating?” He sags in relief at the excited note in her voice as they pull into the carpark for Ilderton rink, the smile on her face is wide as she looks up at the familiar building in front of them. 

“Wait Scott, I can’t skate in this. And I haven’t got my skates!” Tessa’s smile fades as she looks down at the summer dress she’d worn for the party. 

“I know, thats why I got Jordan to pack your skating bag.” Tessa’s smile widens at his words and she leaps out of the car excitedly. 

He carries both of their bags into the building (despite her protests, ‘ _It’s your birthday celebration T_ ’) and she slots under one of his arms easily as she wraps her arms around his waist comfortably. 

“Oh I haven’t been here in ages! Thank you for this Scott.” 

“Anything for you kiddo.” The relaxed smile on her face causes a familiar feeling of warmth to bloom in his chest. 

They part ways when they reach the changing rooms, as he hands her the skate bag, he tries to ignore the way his heart stutters as he thinks that this is where it all began for him all those years ago when he’d found the necklace right at this door. 

He’s out on the ice before her, stroking around slowly as he waits. Since his outburst in his room earlier that day, Scott had tried his hardest to repress his thoughts throughout the rest of the party but as he stroked around on the empty and rather lonely ice, the thoughts rushed back with an alarming intensity. He tries not to think about how differently he had initially thought this day was going to turn out. 

He remembers the bitter disappointment he and Tess had experienced after they’d found out that they were first alternates for the Olympics in Turin and had thought that no feeling could possibly be worse than those they had experienced together in the weeks following the announcement. He was proven wrong now. The painful constriction in his chest is worse than anything he could have imagined.

After Turin, Tess had been the only one who understood what he was going through and they had both taken comfort in that. But now, there was no one who he could commiserate with, no one who understood the confusion and overwhelming sadness he was experiencing. 

Scott is pulled out of his self-pitying thoughts when he notices Tess standing by the boards, she watches him silently and it puzzles him that he can’t interpret the expression on her face again. 

Quickly skating over, he comes to a stop right in front of her, laughing as she squeals when he sprays ice over her. 

“You okay Scotty? You looked kinda lost out there.” The concern from earlier is back on her face and for a moment he considers telling her everything but the thought is quickly brushed away as he tries to smile at her. 

“Just fine, just missing my skating partner that’s all.” He shrugs before stopping her by placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“I’ve got something for you. I know you said no presents but it’s your 18th so…” He trails off as he pulls out a square box from his pocket and gently places it in her hand. He had been waiting to give this to her all day (or months considering how long he’d had it) and was anxiously hoping she would appreciate it. 

She looks up at him in confusion, before turning her attention back to what is clearly a small jewellery box. She emits a small gasp as she snaps the box open, her eyes landing on the contents. 

Nestled in a plush pillow, is a delicate rose gold bangle. The majority of the bracelet is smooth but at the front the metal changes to a flowing crossover design, with three emerald stones set into it. Scott had spent ages pouring over the different shades of green stones at the jewellers (who knew there were so many different shades of one simple stone) before he’d found the perfect colour that matched both Tessa’s eyes and the pendant on the necklace that had sparked his colour-sight. On the inside of the bracelet he had requested that they engrave ‘no matter what, we’re in this together’, the lady who had been helping him had smiled at that, insisting his girlfriend would love it - that particular memory now made his stomach churn. 

“Do you- do you like it?” Scott breaks the silence nervously after Tessa spends a solid few minutes staring wordlessly down at the box. 

When Tessa looks up at him, her eyes glisten with unshed tears and he automatically moves to wipe them away but is stopped by the force of Tessa crashing into him as she hugs him fiercely. 

Since his 18th birthday, things between him and Tessa have been different. Not enough for it to be noticeable by outsiders, or for it to affect their skating, but it was small things that were noticeable to him. Small moments where Tessa no longer leant into him as much as she once did, or where she went to hug him before stopping herself. There had once been a time when Tessa had jumped at the opportunity for them to spend time with each other outside of practice because they were all the other person had of home, but now Tessa had started to turn down his invitations more and more frequently, he'd shrug it off but each time it chipped away at him a little more. He knew it was because she believed he had found his colourmate and was trying to respect more ‘normal’ boundaries but he had expected that all to change after she found out they were colourmates, now he knew that might never happen and he only hoped it didn’t get worse between them. 

Holding her here now, wrapping his arms tightly around her familiar frame in the place where they had first met, Scott could almost pretend that everything between them was fine and he was determined to stay in this disillusion for at least a few moments longer. 

“Thank you Scott. It’s beautiful. I love it.” Tessa whispers softly into his shoulder before she presses a kiss to his cheek (he hopes that she didn’t notice the shiver of his body in response to that). 

“Love you Scotty.” She whispers softly, his heart beats a little harder at her words even if he knows she didn’t mean it the way he wanted her to.

“Love you too T.” The words are out of his mouth automatically in response and he feels her relax further into the embrace.

When she pulls away, the smile on her face is even bigger than before and without saying anything she holds the unclasped bangle out to him before extending her left wrist. He helps her to clasp the bracelet around her wrist (it fits perfectly) and she skates out onto the ice as he places the box back with their skate guards. 

He leans over to press play on the speakers and he hears her squeak of surprise as she recognises Hall and Oates beginning to play.

“I knew you loved them secretly!” She crows triumphantly from behind him. 

“I’m only doing this because its your birthday surprise, I still don’t like them.” He pretends to sound sullen but the smirk on his face says otherwise.  

As he turns to face her, he pauses momentarily, his breath catches in his throat as he watches her dance gleefully to what he knows is her favourite song. He’d always thought Tessa was beautiful, but watching her here now, with her hair tied in a messy bun and dressed in leggings and an oversized Leafs sweatshirt, he thinks she might just be the most beautiful girl in the world. 

She spins around happily, the smile on her face radiant before she comes to a stop and extends her hand out to him. 

“You coming partner?” 

He skates forward without hesitation and takes her hand in his just like he did that first time, almost 11 years ago. As her hand slots in his like it always has and she glances at him softly, her eyes sparkling like the bracelet on her wrist, he knows without a doubt that he would do anything in his power to make sure Tessa Virtue was happy. 

Even if that meant letting her go. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are interested, here is what I'm basing the bracelet that Scott gave to Tessa on, but instead of diamond-like stones, imagine emeralds in their place and then its basically the same! (To NotADragon, if you're seeing this the bracelet is inspired by "Marked"!) 
> 
> https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2OSlC482Q-nOEGSHMvm6NSgcNuaOlYTsLrQL5EkkpJGlRw1CPM_nm38aBSdkycjZBgdSAf0g&usqp=CAY
> 
> I've got parts of the story planned out after this chapter but nothing is really set yet, so if anyone has anything they want to see happen or any ideas for the plot - comment away!
> 
> Also, for anyone interested I'm kinda planning an angsty vm story based on the Japril storyline on Grey's Anatomy - would anyone be interested in reading that? 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading and please comment!! :)


	3. Colours are only beautiful when they mean something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessa realises things between her and Scott aren't quite as she hoped they would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Wow I am so so so very sorry for the long long time it took for me to update! I realise that most of you either forgot this story existed or gave up on the hope of getting an update, I promise I didn't forget about the story - I just had exams for 6 weeks and I've just finished so the story had to go on hold because I got too busy. 
> 
> But on the bright side I've finished for good now so the chapters should be coming a little quicker, I split my original chapter 3 into two parts so it would be updated sooner haha :) I'm sorry its not very long
> 
> So sorry for the wait and I hope you guys enjoy the new update!

With a frustrated scream Tessa hurls the offending piece of jewellery at the opposite wall of her bedroom. There is no real force behind the throw but the bangle makes a dull sound as it bounces off the wall and hits the floor, the circle broken as the clasp opens upon impact. 

From the carpeted floor of her bedroom, the bracelet that she had treasured just weeks ago catches the light streaming in from her window and shines tauntingly back up at her. She still remembers the overwhelming sense of affection and joy she had felt when Scott had first presented the bracelet to her on her birthday and recalls with bitter embarrassment that she’d had to blink rather quickly to hide the tears that had formed in her eyes at his thoughtful gesture. 

After the revelation of Scott’s 18th birthday, Tessa had tried her hardest to distance herself from her soulmate as much as she could. Unfortunately for her, he was also her skating partner (not that she regretted that, she would _never_ regret that, no matter what), so that plan had not exactly gone as expected. Still, she had been succeeding - until he gave her the bracelet. After that, she had started to let her walls come down, believing that perhaps despite everything, things between them could still be alright, that shutting him out would be more painful than living with the reality of their situation. 

How foolish she had been to believe that. 

She should have just stuck to her original plan, because where did her new plan get her? Alone and miserable in her bedroom in London whilst Scott was probably celebrating his newfound freedom in Canton. 

_‘No matter what, we’re in this together.’_

From her position on her bed, she can just make out the engraving on the inside of the bracelet. Words that had once filled her with warmth and delight now left a sharp acrid taste in her mouth. If she closes her eyes she can still hear the soft and comforting tone of Scott’s voice as he’d whispered those words to her during practices and before competitions. 

Without warning, the door to her room flies open to reveal her mom standing there with a look of alarm and panic on her face. 

“Tessa? Is everything okay?” Her mom’s voice is full of concern and confusion as she spots her daughter lying haphazardly on her bed, in the same position she had left her in hours ago. 

Tessa doesn’t even look up at her mom, keeping her gaze focused solely on the target of her anger and disappointment. It doesn’t take long for Kate to follow her gaze and out of the corner of her eye Tessa sees her mom’s posture relax and the confusion on her face clears. 

Kate crosses the room wordlessly, stooping to pick up the bracelet before inspecting it quickly. Apparently satisfied that it was largely unharmed, she closes the clasp and places it on the shelf nearby (pointedly out of Tessa’s reach). She walks back to her daughter’s side, sitting down at the edge of the bed whilst Tessa steadfastly ignores her probing gaze. 

“Oh Tess.” She doesn’t say anything else and doesn’t need to ask why Tessa had thrown the bracelet across the room. Tessa is relieved when her mom doesn’t say much else, simply providing comfort by being there. She resists turning around to hug her mom, knowing that if she did so she would not be able to stop the tears she was trying so hard to suppress. 

After several moments of silence, Kate squeezes her shoulder softly before getting up and leaving the room. She hated leaving her daughter alone when she was clearly in so much pain but she knew that despite everything she had tried, there was nothing she could do for Tessa now. As a mother, it pained her to know that she wasn’t the one that could alleviate the heartbreak her daughter was experiencing, that the person her daughter usually relied on for comfort was the one that was now causing her pain. With one last look back at her daughter, she closes the door softly behind her. 

Tessa waits until her mom’s footsteps have receded before turning around to stare at the door, With her mom gone she is left alone with her thoughts again, thoughts she would rather not think about. 

It had been over a month since she’d returned home after her surgery. Over a month that she had been _patiently_ waiting to hear from Scott, and at this point she knew better than to think he was going to contact her. But did that stop her stomach from churning every time she thought about the radio silence coming from him? No. 

The message that Scott was sending with his lack of communication was more than clear, even if she had really tried her hardest to ignore it initially. He'd heard what she'd said on the night before her surgery and he was clearly trying to let her down 'gently' - even if rejecting her outright might have hurt less. 

She doesn't know what she was thinking, telling him that. And every single fibre of her being now regretted what she'd done. Especially since it would now make her return to Canton even more awkward and painful than it needed to be, and she wasn't talking about her legs. 

A week before her surgery, Tessa had finally built up the courage to tell Scott that she needed surgery - despite having known for a month. Although he had been shocked and dismayed that she hadn't told him earlier ( _"It's you and me together always right T?"_ ), he had then said that they should do something the night before since she wouldn't be able to leave the house for a while after the surgery. Although she had said they didn't need to, she had been secretly pleased when he insisted that they do. 

She knew that it wasn't a date ( _really she did_ ), but that didn't stop her from fretting over what to wear and what they were going to do. But all her imagining hadn't prepared her for the night. When he'd turned up to pick her up, she had been pleasantly surprised to see he wasn't dressed in his usual casual training attire (she knew he'd gone to the rink that day so she hadn't expected him to change) but had instead changed into jeans and a nice shirt (that made him look so much more attractive if she did say so herself). He'd driven them to her favourite cafe diner in London where he'd reminded her that although she was irritated at having to miss out on training, it did mean she could indulge in as much chocolate and other 'restricted' foods as she wanted. 

Tessa has been surprised again when they'd pulled up at the rink after dinner. She'd turned to him with a confused, but slightly disappointed expression. 

_"Scott, you know I can't -"_

_"I know I know, I'm not expecting us to do anything spectacular or impressive but I know you're going to miss the ice over the next few weeks so I thought we could just come here to skate around. My mom knows and we've got the whole place to ourselves, if it gets too much I'll carry you but I just wanted us to have one more time on the ice together before tomorrow." He'd turned to her with an anxious expression that had faded slightly when she gave him a brilliant grin in return._

_"Oh Scott, that would be so great." He'd smiled widely back in return and the two of them had rushed into their home rink with giddy excitement._

_True to his word, Scott had picked her up and carried her in a move reminiscent of their first lift when the pain in her legs got too much and she was extremely grateful for the extended time they were able to spend on the ice. They tried to ignore the unsaid words that hung between them, that they were so desperate to skate together one more time before the surgery because they didn't know how it might go. The doctor had warned her there was a possibility that she might never be able to skate competitively again._

After their time at the rink, the two of them had returned to her home with flushed cheeks and bright smiles adorning their faces. Over the course of the evening, Scott had managed to make her forget about the looming fear that she faced the next day and just focus on the sense of happiness she felt at spending time with her best friend and soulmate - it was because of that feeling that she'd made her big mistake. 

When he'd stopped his truck on her drive, the two of them had just sat there chatting, neither one of them wanting to leave just yet. If her parents noticed them, they said nothing, it wasn't uncommon for the two of them to sit on the drive for a while before saying goodbye. 

Caught up in the feeling of elation that had come with the night (that was so definitely not a date), Tessa had brought up the one subject she tried to avoid around Scott - colourmates. 

They chatted vaguely about it for a while, the two of them stiff in their seats. Finally deciding she could take it no longer, she took a deep breath before blurting out the words she had been holding in for weeks (or if she thought about it, months or even years).

_"Soulmates should be honest with each other don't you think Scott?"_

_"Yes, they should." His words came out almost strangled and he held himself even more rigidly than before. Did he already know where this was going? He had always been good at reading her but she thought she had kept this pretty well hidden from him._

_"I think that- well if- if somebody were to know something, for example uh- if they were to know that they were somebody's soulmate or um- that someone was their soulmate, I think that they should tell them right?"_

_Although she'd phrased it was a question, the two of them sat in tense silence for a short moment before she couldn't handle it any longer and words started to flow out of her mouth before she could even really think about what she was saying._

_"So um this is me telling you I guess? And I'm not saying this is going to go anywhere I just thought you should know. And I know that it won't be reciprocated - as much as it might hurt I know it's a one-sided soulmate pairing, I just want us to carry on being us, Tessa and Scott, and I couldn't keep doing that whilst I knew what I do."_

_She took a deep breath after she finished, staring straight ahead of her to avoid seeing the pity that must now be on Scott's face. Neither said anything for a long while._

_As if sensing her distress, her mom chose this moment to come out of the house and Tessa had to suppress the feeling of relief that bubbled up at the sight of her mom._

_"Oh, that's my mom. I didn't realise how late it was. I should really go. Thank you for this evening Scott, it was great. I'll - uh see you around I guess. Good night."_

_She quickly leaned forward automatically and it was too late before she realised what she'd done, pecking him lightly on the cheek she clambers out of the truck into the cool air before he has a chance to say anything else._

Despite what had happened, she had still expected to see him the next morning for her surgery. She remembers that morning, resenting herself for her own naivety. She’d stalled leaving the house for as long as she could, glancing out of the window as many times as possible without making it obvious that she was hoping a particular car would turn into her house. When her mom finally insisted they had to leave, she had to force herself away from the window. The fear and anxiety that had been steadily growing suddenly increased at the realisation that she was going into this alone for the first time in their partnership, and sometimes she can still feel the way her heart had beat unsteadily in her chest as she'd watched her house fade into the distance. Although her family had surrounded her as she walked into the hospital, she had never felt so alone. 

Since that day, she had seen the way of her family members had glanced at each other 'subtly' when they thought she wasn't looking. She knew they meant well but their sickening looks of pity and worry were almost as bad as the silence from Scott.

Initially she had assumed he was probably staying in Canton to avoid having to see her if he came back home, but she hadn't realised just how much worse it was until one morning several weeks after her surgery. She had been on her way downstairs to the kitchen, slowly hobbling along, when she had heard the voices of her mom and sister conversing quietly in the kitchen. 

_"Has Tess mentioned if Scott is coming round this weekend?" She'd had to strain to hear her mom's voice, as if she was worried someone (Tessa) might overhear if she spoke too loudly, well it was too late for that._

_"No, why? I thought he was staying in Canton to train whilst she recovers?" Jordan's voice had been confused as she replied, like Tessa, her sister had assumed that Scott would not be returning home._

_"He is, but I heard from Alma last week that he's home for the weekend to visit. I thought, or at least, I hoped that he might come visit Tess whilst he's here."_

_"Oh. No, Tessa hasn't said anything. I don't think she knows that he's back in Canada."_

_Well she did now._

_"Has she spoken about him at all? She won't say anything to me but those two need each other."_

_Tessa hurries away at that point (or she hurries as quickly as she can with her legs, trying to make as little sound as possible)._

_'I don't need him at all.' Tessa had thought to herself fiercely._

In her haste to get away, Tessa didn't hear what her mom had said next, perhaps everything would have gone differently if she had. 

_"I know she misses him, and Alma says he misses her too. We just don't get why they won't admit that."_  

It had been a few weeks since she'd overheard her mom and sister's conversation but their words had stuck in her mind. The realisation that Scott had in fact been home, no more than twenty minutes away, and yet hadn't even reached out to her once, left her reeling and feeling sick to the stomach. Despite what her mom (and the rest of her family) clearly thought, Tessa was determined to show that she didn't rely on some silly boy - even if he was her soulmate. He'd made it abundantly clear that he neither needed her, or missed her so she would do the same. 

When the time came for her to return to Canton to resume training, Scott would finally realize that the days of her relying on him like some naive little girl were gone. 

Tessa Virtue most certainly didn't need Scott Moir, and she was going to prove that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to virtuemoirlike and amazingness for helping me to read over and edit the chapter! :) 
> 
> Next up: Scott's POV on this whole situation 
> 
> What things do you want to see happen? :)


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